A share-price collapse does not, by itself, make a stock cheap. The case for Intuit and AppLovin rests on whether their reported growth can endure despite technology and competition risks; lululemon faces a more immediate challenge because its recent sales and full-year outlook are contracting. The available figures show sharply different operating conditions, but they do not establish that any of these stocks is undervalued today.
What the 2026 declines do—and do not—tell you
The Motley Fool reported the following 2026 declines in an article published October 6, 2026. These are that article’s dated share-price figures, not live quotes or independently recalculated total returns; they can change with prices and the measurement period.
| Company | Reported 2026 decline | Latest operating evidence in the cited company materials | Management outlook in those materials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) | 56%, as reported by The Motley Fool on October 6, 2026 | FY2026 results were released August 25, 2026; the cited materials do not provide a quarterly growth figure for this comparison. | FY2027 revenue growth of 9% to 10% and GAAP diluted EPS growth of 22% to 24%, in Intuit’s August 25, 2026 guidance. |
| AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) | 59%, as reported by The Motley Fool on October 6, 2026 | Q2 2026 revenue rose 53% year over year to $1.924 billion; net income rose 55% to $1.267 billion, according to AppLovin’s August 5, 2026 results. | Q3 2026 revenue of $2.055 billion to $2.085 billion, according to the August 5, 2026 guidance. |
| lululemon athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) | 55%, as reported by The Motley Fool on October 6, 2026 | Q2 FY2026 revenue fell 4% to $2.4 billion, comparable sales fell 9%, and diluted EPS was $2.92 versus $3.10 a year earlier, according to lululemon’s September 3, 2026 release. | FY2026 revenue of $10.350 billion to $10.500 billion, a projected decline of 5% to 7%, in the September 3, 2026 outlook. |
The table captures a key distinction: the cited Intuit and AppLovin materials point to continued growth, while lululemon’s latest reported quarter and annual outlook point to contraction. That difference is relevant to the investment case, but it does not tell you what the shares are worth. A declining stock can still be expensive if expected profits fall faster than its price; a growing business can still be overpriced if its future growth is already reflected in the valuation.
Intuit: growth guidance, with an AI question to test
The headline’s “Inuit” is a typo: the company discussed is Intuit Inc., the financial-software business known for QuickBooks and TurboTax. The Motley Fool framed the decline around investor concern that AI could disrupt software. That is a reported market concern, not evidence in the cited materials that Intuit’s products or revenue have already been displaced.
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Intuit’s FY2027 guidance remains growth-oriented. The company projected revenue growth of 9% to 10% and GAAP diluted EPS growth of 22% to 24% in its August 25, 2026 release. Those are management forecasts, not realized results or guarantees. To judge whether that outlook supports the stock, an investor would need to assess whether customers continue to use and pay for Intuit’s products, whether AI improves or weakens the company’s offering, and how much of the expected growth is already embedded in the share price.
There is also an earnings-comparability issue. Effective August 1, 2026, Intuit stopped excluding share-based compensation from its non-GAAP measures, saying it considers the expense recurring. That means older adjusted earnings figures may use a different basis from newer ones. Comparisons across the policy change should use like-for-like measures or clearly identify the change; mixing old and new adjusted figures can make growth appear more comparable than it is.
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AppLovin: strong reported growth does not settle durability
AppLovin’s latest cited quarter showed rising revenue and net income. Its August 5, 2026 release also reported Q2 adjusted EBITDA of $1.614 billion, up 58% year over year, and free cash flow of $863.3 million. For Q3, the company guided to adjusted EBITDA of $1.710 billion to $1.740 billion alongside the revenue range in the table. AppLovin cautioned that it does not provide forward-looking GAAP equivalents or reconciliations for this adjusted EBITDA guidance because of uncertainty in reconciling items. Adjusted EBITDA is therefore not interchangeable with GAAP earnings.
The prior quarter adds context: in Q1 2026, AppLovin reported year-over-year growth of 59% in revenue, 109% in net income, and 66% in adjusted EBITDA. These results show strong recent reported momentum, but two fast-growing quarters cannot establish how durable that growth will be. The Motley Fool described concern that AI could intensify competition in ad technology; that is a risk thesis, not evidence that the latest results have already weakened.
Investors weighing the risk should examine whether advertisers keep spending, whether the platform remains effective as technology changes, and whether competition, customer concentration, or margin pressure could weaken future results. The cited figures do not resolve those forward-looking questions, nor do they establish a fair share price.
lululemon: demand pressure and a one-time outlook benefit
lululemon’s cited operating results are weaker than those of the two software and advertising businesses. The company’s September 3, 2026 release said comparable sales declined in Q2 FY2026, while diluted EPS also fell year over year. Its FY2026 revenue outlook projected a further decline. Those figures make the investment question less about whether recent growth is accelerating and more about whether demand and sales performance can stabilize.
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One detail matters when reading the annual outlook: it included a $0.86-per-share contribution from tariff refunds and associated interest recognized in Q2. Management did not include any additional potential refunds. This is not a recurring improvement in apparel sales or operating performance, so investors should separate it from the business’s underlying earnings power when assessing the outlook.
The company’s SEC filing described particular weakness in the Americas: comparable sales fell 12%, and management cited reduced traffic, lower conversion, and lower average order value. The filing also identified shifting consumer demand and brand sentiment, macroeconomic conditions, trade policies, currency movements, and geopolitical instability as factors affecting results. These are company-identified risks and explanations, not proof that any one factor caused the share-price decline.
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How to decide whether a decline is a bargain
A valuation judgment requires more than a drawdown and a growth rate. At minimum, compare the price with a consistent set of forward earnings or cash-flow estimates, check the balance sheet and quality of earnings, and make assumptions about how long growth or contraction is likely to last. Use the same date and measurement basis for each company, and account for the differences between GAAP and adjusted measures.
- For Intuit: test whether its growth outlook is achievable and whether AI is more likely to strengthen its products or erode their value. Compare earnings on a consistent basis around the share-based-compensation policy change.
- For AppLovin: assess whether recent growth and cash generation can persist, while accounting for competition, technology shifts, customer concentration, and the limits of adjusted EBITDA guidance.
- For lululemon: look for evidence that demand, traffic, conversion, and order value can recover. Do not treat the tariff-refund contribution as repeatable operating progress.
Then ask what the market price already assumes. A low multiple against optimistic analyst estimates may not be a bargain if those estimates prove too high; a company facing near-term contraction may still be worth considering if a defensible valuation accounts for the risks and potential recovery. The Motley Fool article described Intuit as trading at about 13 times estimated future profits, but that was a dated multiple based on analyst expectations, not an independently verified valuation. It can change as the share price and estimates move, and it is not enough to compare all three companies on a common basis.
What can be concluded from the available figures
The cited operating evidence offers a clearer contrast than the declines alone: Intuit has positive FY2027 guidance, AppLovin has strong recent reported growth and positive Q3 guidance, and lululemon has declining recent sales and a contracting full-year revenue outlook. That makes lululemon’s near-term operating picture the weakest of the three in these materials, while the growth cases for Intuit and AppLovin still depend on risks the reported results cannot settle.
No current, consistently calculated valuation set for all three companies is established by these figures. Without dated share prices, comparable forward estimates, balance-sheet analysis, and a stated valuation method, calling any one of them a bargain—or a bust—would go beyond what the evidence supports.
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